


shine bright, my starlight

by demonglass



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Feelings Realization, Gentle Affection, I wrote this on a whim, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Stargazing, i think the plot is just: fellas....is it gay, it's just soft idk, jisung is a scaredy-cat, kind of, like ig it's up to u how u read this, some dreamies get mentioned, somehow ended up referencing ari & dante discover the secrets of the universe a Lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonglass/pseuds/demonglass
Summary: Jisung wants to see the stars. He wants to see the starswithRenjun.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Park Jisung
Comments: 26
Kudos: 112





	shine bright, my starlight

**Author's Note:**

> hey im posting this from the brink of death bc i got food poisoning or a bug or smth and my stomach has been trying to kill me all day but since it started when i was half thru this, when i finally picked myself up off the floor i decided to finish what i had begun and at least leave the world with a completed drabble before i pass away. hope u enjoy

_So I fell into your hands, and I don't know where we'll land - I'm just going with the flow._

_\- love love love, hope_

The streetlamps flicker golden yellow against the night. Light pollution casts the sky a dim shade of gray, but some bright, stubborn stars flicker through. The pavement is dark, still wet from the rain that had poured down earlier, trapping Renjun and Jisung inside the mall for an hour after their movie had let out. Now the air is clear though, and the puddles littering the streets catch light from the storefronts overhead and sparkle. 

It’s like the stars have fallen from the sky to scatter across the earth, dotting the path home. 

“I want to go to the countryside,” Jisung says absently, dodging a puddle in the sidewalk and coming up right alongside Renjun. Their shoulders brush together and Renjun lets out a breath, almost a laugh. 

“What for?” 

“I want to see the stars for real.” Jisung waves a hand up at the sky. “I wanna lay in the back of a pickup and just stare up and be able to see the whole universe.”

“And where are you going to get this pickup?” Renjun asks, skeptical even as he feels his eyes crinkle in amusement, fondness.

“Donghyuck’s older brother has one, doesn’t he?” Jisung turns to Renjun, looking for confirmation. 

“Johnny? Yeah I guess he does.” Renjun cocks his head to the side. “So you’re going to steal a grown man’s car and run away? Is that what I’m hearing?”

Jisung’s cheeks tinge pink and he shakes his head hurriedly, looking back down at the ground. “ _Borrow_ ,” he says with careful emphasis, “and I’m not _going_ to. I just think it would be nice.”

Renjun hums, considering. “It would be nice,” he decides. “Wouldn’t you feel lonely, parked in the middle of nowhere and looking up at _everything_ , just you?”

Jisung doesn’t answer for a long moment. They keep walking, move out from under a streetlamp and are washed in shadow as the mall and all its lights grow more distant behind them. Jisung is still a hair's breadth away from Renjun, though the road has curved upwards and no puddles lay in their path. 

“You could come with me,” Jisung says after the pause. There’s a twinge of hope in his voice, hidden beneath nonchalance. 

Something tugs at Renjun’s chest, an insistent little thing that makes him say, “Just the two of us against the universe?” 

He spares a glance up at Jisung and finds Jisung looking at him curiously. “Yeah,” Jisung says, meeting Renjun’s eyes in the half-light before looking away, up to the hazy sky. “But it wouldn’t be _against_ the universe. Just… with.”

Renjun watches Jisung a moment longer, surprised by the smooth curves of his face though he’s seen it many times before. Eventually, he looks away. There’s another streetlamp coming up, on the other side of the street, but bright all the same. 

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Renjun says, voice soft, as if the night is a delicate thing. He’s not entirely sure why. “I’d like to see the constellations- if I can find them in real life.” 

Jisung nods, like this is all they need to say. For a while, it is.

Renjun is used to silence, both when he’s alone and when he’s with company. With Jisung, silence feels just a little bit different, though. As they walk down the sidewalk, Renjun can feel Jisung thinking, can almost _hear_ the hum of his mind racing. He’s attuned to it like he usually isn’t with others. 

It’s one of the mysteries of the universe, he supposes, that so many things are just a little bit different when it comes to Jisung. 

A mystery why Jaemin laughs at them whenever Renjun pulls Jisung into his arms during the movie nights that Chenle plays something with a bit too much horror or suspense. A mystery why Renjun finds his arms crossed at the sight of Donghyuck holding Jisung in a loose headlock, at the sight of Jisung slumping against him once he’s been freed and letting Donghyuck hug him in gleeful apology. A mystery why Renjun feels a sharp indignation every time Chenle accuses him of hogging _his_ best friend. 

A mystery why all that is soothed when Jisung shrinks himself to Renjun’s size and lays against him, or curls up in his lap like an oversized cat. When Renjun takes his hand, and Jisung just _follows_. 

A mystery of the universe. 

Maybe if they ever did drive out to the countryside together, if they really did lay under the stars and finally map them together, maybe Renjun would be able to figure it all out. Maybe the stars would have answers. 

But it’s late, and Renjun is tired, and there are no stars bright enough overhead to shine a light on him tonight. So he walks down the road with Jisung, listening to him think. 

They’re nearing the intersection where the street splits off in two directions - one heading towards Renjun’s house, the other to Jisung’s, when the pristine silence is shattered by the revving of an engine, booming and obnoxious in the quiet of the night. Jisung startles, letting out a loud yelp and jumping as a car hurtles down the road on the other side of the double line, tires screeching as the driver doesn’t even brake at the stop sign. The car wails by and Jisung clings to Renjun’s arm, his front pressed against Renjun’s back. 

A flash of protectiveness subdues Renjun’s instinctive reaction to flinch away, and he feels Jisung’s frightened shock just as much as the danger of a runaway car. It happens quickly, though; the car moves so fast that it’s there and gone in a heartbeat, the threat flying off into the night just as quickly as it had appeared.

Still, Jisung’s grip on Renjun remains tight, and they’ve frozen in place. Jisung’s breaths come fast, fanning out over Renjun’s ear and sending goosebumps across his skin. Jisung is so close, Renjun thinks he can feel his heart pounding against his back. 

“You’re a big scaredy-cat,” Renjun says without heat, tugging Jisung’s hands free from where they dig into his arm, and placating his complaints by lacing their fingers together. 

“You were startled too,” Jisung mumbles, ears red enough for Renjun to notice even though they haven’t hit the bright spot under the nearest street light yet.

“I’m surprised you noticed with all the jumping and the yelling,” Renjun teases, giving their joined hands a little tug to urge Jisung forward. 

“I didn’t yell,” Jisung says, a bit indignant. He begins to walk, though, following Renjun’s lead. His steps seem shakier than usual, his eyes still wide, and he looks like a large fawn, ruffled hair and all.

“Why am I deaf in one ear now, then?” Renjun asks instead of cooing at Jisung.

“Must have been the car,” Jisung answers easily despite the flush spreading across his face. 

“Must have,” Renjun hums. It elicits a smile from Jisung, and it’s a pretty sight, even in the pale, washed out yellow of the weak streetlight. Renjun smiles too, feels warm even though there’s a chill to the night air. 

They make it to the intersection, and Renjun falters, realizes he has to let Jisung’s hand go so they can head in different directions. When he loosens his grip, though, Jisung’s fingers tighten around his. 

Renjun casts him a curious look. 

Jisung worries his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes dancing across Renjun’s face, refusing to linger any one place too long. Renjun brushes his thumb along the soft skin of Jisung’s hand in silent question. 

“Can we…” Jisung starts, not quite meeting Renjun’s eyes, “can I just come over?”

Renjun blinks, surprised by Jisung’s trepidation. It’s not like they haven’t slept over at each other’s houses before, though he supposes those times do usually include a brother or two. “Sure,” he says, and he readjusts his grip on Jisung’s hand to drive the agreement home. “Something up?”

Jisung shakes his head, and finally meets Renjun’s eyes. “Just feel like it.”

And because Renjun has never been good at denying Jisung anything he wants, even tends to go out of his way to fulfill Jisung’s wishes far more often than he probably should, Renjun has no reason to deny Jisung this. He nods in acceptance and turns away from the road that would take Jisung home, instead pulling him forward, in the direction of his own house. 

Jisung walks along with him, and Renjun can feel that he’s pleased, even if he doesn’t speak.

In no time, they’ve made it all the way to his mailbox, standing out from the others on the street thanks to Renjun and Chenle’s childhood paintings: half are messy in an _almost_ artistic way, and the rest, pure bright chaos. Renjun smiles every time he sees it, and out of the corner of his eye, he catches Jisung smiling too. 

Past the mailbox, Renjun brings Jisung in through the front door, locking it again behind them. They toe off their shoes and walk down the hall. It’s late, but Renjun’s parents are still out for some sort of work event, maybe delayed by the rain like Renjun and Jisung had been. They pad down the hall, and the light in Chenle’s room is off, so they speak in hushed voices as they reach Renjun’s room and slip inside. 

“I’m gonna shower,” Renjun says as Jisung settles on the edge of his bed.

“Okay,” Jisung nods softly, picking at the corner of the blanket under him.

“You want one after?”

Jisung nods again, “Sure.”

So half an hour later, they find themselves in fresh clothes - pajamas for Renjun, one of his oversized shirts and a pair of sweats he’d left over during one of his visits for Jisung - and clean after a long night out. 

Exhaustion has settled deep in Renjun’s bones, and he slumps against his bed, rolling into the dip where the old springs creak a bit. Jisung shuffles hesitantly after him, movements careful as he sinks in next to Renjun’s side and pulls the covers up over both of them. 

“I don’t bite,” Renjun mutters as Jisung lays too stiffly beside him, a distance between them that would seem almost purposeful if Renjun were more aware. “We’ve been over this.”

“Right,” Jisung says. He sounds a little embarrassed, but when Renjun rolls again, closer to him this time, and throws an arm around him, Jisung melts. 

The tension drains right out of Jisung’s body as Renjun snuggles up to him, curving around him like a tiny comma. “There you go,” Renjun breathes sleepily into Jisung’s neck, not putting up any kind of fight to keep his eyes from falling shut. He’s comfortable like this, warm because Jisung radiates heat like a furnace, content because there’s something about the feeling of Jisung in his arms that he likes much more than he even realizes. 

Jisung makes a soft sound and tugs the covers higher over them, bunching just shy of Renjun’s chin. When his hand settles again, it’s not at his side, but curled over the arm Renjun had wrapped around him. 

Renjun hums, breathing in the smell of his own soap on Jisung’s skin. It’s nice. Everything feels soft and easy, and Renjun thinks that maybe he could stay here forever, that maybe it would be quite nice to. 

As Renjun feels himself start to drift off, the last thing he remembers hearing is a gentle whisper of _goodnight_ from Jisung. 

When he sleeps, he dreams of stars. There’s one brighter than the rest, almost close enough to touch. He likes that one best.

( Later, when the nights have been softened by tentative warmth, Renjun drives to Jisung’s house and tears him out of Jaemin’s clutches - to Jisung’s relief and his brother’s dismay - and places him squarely in the passenger seat. Jisung glances to the backseat, and a disbelieving smile stretches across his face. Renjun savors the sight, and then they drive.

That night, they lay on the roof of Renjun’s car, not quite the bed of a pickup, but more than enough for Jisung. Renjun looks up at the boundless sea of stars, twinkling impossibly bright against the inky black sky. When he looks away, he watches Jisung watching the stars with a wonder that suits him so well. 

As Jisung maps _O_ _rion_ into the palm of Renjun’s hand, touch feather-light and trailing the same sparkling feeling that the sky has made bloom in Renjun’s chest, Renjun realizes the stars have answered his unspoken question, granted his wish. 

Renjun closes his hand around Jisung’s and sends his thanks up skyward. Jisung tilts his head to look at Renjun, and it looks like all the stars are in his eyes.

Renjun smiles. 

There’s one fewer mystery in the vast expanse of the universe. )


End file.
